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The wife of the Nobel prize-winning dissident Liu Xiaobo has spoken through
floods of tears about the two years she has spent under illegal house
arrest, a punishment that has drawn condemnation from around the world.

Liu Xia’s fleeting interview — her first clandestine contact with journalists
since late 2010 — was possible only because reporters exploited a lapse in
her guards’ routine as they went to lunch.

For 26 months, despite the Chinese Government’s repeated claims that it
maintains a rule of law, Ms Liu has been subjected to extra-judicial
punishment — being confined to her flat and denied all communications and